This Is What You Made Me
by Ruby Halliwell
Summary: Every hunter has a story about why the became a hunter. Dean Winchester is hunting alone when he meets Bobby's daughter: Bella Singer. Bella is running from a past she can never truly escape and holding a grudge against the people she once called family. Amidst the chaos of revenge and caught up in a demons plans for war can the pair finally let go of the past and find love?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

Prologue

I watched Alice shut her phone and I struggled against Jasper hold on me again. It was like having iron bars wrapped around my torso. "Alice, don't do this," I begged her. "He has my mom. He'll kill her!" I was crying now tears running freely down my face. I fought harder against Jasper when she didn't answer me. I was suddenly over come with exhaustion and stopped fighting. It only took me a moment to realize what was going on. "No, Jasper," I tried to protest, but I was already falling asleep.

"It's for your own good, Bella," I heard Alice say just as I slipped under.

* * *

I woke up with a start and threw my arm over my eyes to protect them from the sunlight filtering in through the window. I sat up and blinked at my surroundings. I was back in the bedroom of the hotel we had left earlier. I sleepily rubbed my eyes and then everything that had happened the day before came rushing back. James had my mom and I had to stop Edward or he would kill her. I moved to get off the bed but before I had chance to the door opened and Edward stepped into the room. "Bella, love," he smiled and opened his arms expectantly. I slid off the bed and crossed my arms facing him.

"Don't you 'Bella, love' me Edward Cullen," I snarled at him. "How could you? She was my mother!" I yelled sucumbing to the tears. It wasn't the pretty one tear rolling down my face kind of crying either, I struggeled to breath through my tears and I grabbed a tissue from the box on the beside to wipe my nose.

"I'm sorry, Bella. We did our best but James was too fast. We didn't get there in time to save her." Edward had the nerve to reach out and try to comfort me. I flinched away from him backing into the wall then sliding to the floor. My body was shaking with the force of my sobs.

Once I calmed down enough to stop crying Edward attempted to approach me again. "Stay away from me!" I snapped at him.

"Bella..." he sighed, pausing.

"She's dead, Edward," I stated raising my head slowly. "My mom is dead and its your fault."

"You're being over dramatic, Bella," he said in a tone that I guessed was meant to be soothing but it came out sounding patronizing.

"Over-dramatic? You bet your ass I'm being over-dramatic. This is my mother were talking about Edward. You willingly sacrificed her life."

"To save yours!"

"That was never your decision to make," I roared back. I stared at him for a moment before resting my head back on my knees and clamping my eyes firmly shut. He must have realized he wasnt going to get anything else out of me because he sighed loud enough for me to hear and left.

It was easily a couple of hours later when Edward appeared in the room again and told me it was time to leave. I grabbed my bag from the bed and followed him outside, he took my bag from me and put it in the trunk of his car. I looked him in the eye before walking away and getting into Alice's car. Edward looked like he wanted to stop me but Alice put her hand on his shoulder.

I sighed in relief when Emmett and Carlisle got into Edward's car while Alice and Jasper climbed into theirs – I really didn't want to be around Edward right now. If I was honest I didn't want to be around any of them but I had to get home to my dad. I leaned my head against the car seat looking out the window and thought about what Edward had done. He had no right leaving my mom there to die like that. It should have been my choice and he took it away from me. As I gazed out the window into the starless night, I made the decision to end things with Edward when I got back. What he had done was unforgivable. Just as expected, Alice gasped and turned to look at me shocked. I watched her pull out her phone and call someone, Edward no doubt. She talked too softly for me to hear, but I imagined she was telling Edward what she had seen.

I closed my eyes and shut it all out. I would always be grateful to the Cullens for what they had done for me but gratitude was not a reason to stay with someone. When I got back to Forks I was ending my relationship with Edward Cullen.

A/N: Hey everyone. I tweeked the story a little bit the more I thought about it the more I realized this will fit in better with Bellas mom never coming back into it.


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

* * *

Chapter One

I stood looking at the scarecrow thoroughly freaked out by it and I had seen some strange shit since I had left Bobby to hunt on my own two years ago. We kept in touch but not as much recently. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was going on but Bobby had looked after me so I played the dutiful daughter and came here like he asked.

I heard someone move close by so I disappeared behind a tree and pulled my pistol from the back of my jeans. I slowly poked my head out from my hiding place. I spotted a man, mid-twenties, standing exactly where I had been only moments before. A hunter? He had his back to me so I couldn't see his face.

"Dude, you fugly," he said and I stifled a laugh. He seemed to examine the scarecrow before looking around. I quickly pressed my back against the tree again so he wouldn't see me. I heard leafs rustle and when I stuck my head back around the tree he was climbing a ladder in front of the scarecrow. I held my gun up as I came out of my hiding place watching him curiously. He pulled back the scarecrows sleeve looking at the markings. They had puzzled me. I pointed my gun at him but continued to watch silently.

He pulled out a piece of paper that I couldn't see, and then after a moment he looked back up into the scarecrows face. "Nice tat," he said and I tensed. _What?_

"Don't move," I said loudly enough for him to hear. He held up his hands, the right one still holding the papers and looked over his shoulder at me. "Come down the ladder slowly." He didn't speak as he did.

He turned to face me when he reached the bottom and my eyes all but bugged out of my head. He had short messy brown hair and gorgeous green eyes. I faltered for a minute before shaking my head to clear and pointing my gun back at it him more forcefully. "What's that?" I gestured to the paper with my gun.

"Oh, this..." he smirked, and my knees went weak almost giving out beneath me, waving the paper about in his up held hand "...it's nothing."

"How about you let me decide that, huh? Put it on the ground and step back." He did as I asked and I tentatively stepped towards him. I kept my gun pointed at him as I swooped down and picked it up. I quickly unfolded it and looked down at the picture. It was a missing persons poster, the guy in the picture had a tattoo that matched the markings on the scarecrow. My stomach heaved.

"Why are you here?" I asked him as I tucked it away in my pocket.

"I'm looking for my friends," he said. "The people in the posters? That's them." I didn't believe him for a second. If this was his friend he wouldn't been so unaffected when he saw the tattoo, but I played along.

"They don't like strangers here," I told him. "You'll end up just like your friend." I nodded at the scarecrow.

"They? You don't live here?" I shook my head, and he continued his line of questioning. "Then why are you here?" he asked.

"Probably the same reason you are."

"And why is that?" I took a step towards him so we were only a foot apart.

"To find what killed these couples."

He actually looked surprised and I smirked. "What do you know about it?"

"Not much more than you, considerin' were in the same place," I nodded at the creepy scarecrow again. "Three couples all went missing in the second week of April three years in a row and they all came through this town. Tell me, how long have you been a hunter?" I cocked my head to the side looking at him with curiosity.

"It takes one to know one." He smiled.

"That it does," I said with another smirk as I stowed my gun away. "Bella Singer." I held out my hand.

"Dean Winchester." He smiled shaking it. "Singer as in Bobby Singer?" he asked.

I nodded. "Bobby's my dad, my adoptive dad anyway. He's the one who taught me to hunt. Creepy ain't it?" I nodded at the scarecrow, hoping to change the subject.

"Yeah," he agreed, looking up at it. "I'm heading back into town. You need a ride?"

"Yeah, I left my truck in town," I smiled and followed him from the orchard.

* * *

Dean pulled up by a gas station and climbed out first.

"You're back," a pretty young girl said.

"Never left," Dean smiled, and I took that as my cue to climb out of the car.

"And your not alone," she observed as I walked to stand by Dean. I smiled at the jealous edge in her tone. "Still looking for your friends?" she asked choosing not to acknowledge me.

"Mind filling her up there, Emily?" he asked, not answering her question. I wasn't sure what made me chuckle, Dean referring to his car as a she or the way _Emily's _face lit up when he said her name.

She turned her back to get the gas nozzle and Dean raised an eyebrow at me in question to which I just shook my head. Dean turned back to her leaning against the car. "So did you grow up here?" He asked.

"I came here when I was thirteen," she replied still acting as if I wasn't even standing there. "I lost my parents. A car accident. My aunt and uncle took me in."

"They're nice people," Dean said.

"Everybody's nice here." I raised my eyebrow in disbelief and Dean shot a look my way.

"So, what? It's the perfect little town?" I hadn't known him long but I caught the slight sarcastic edge in his voice that I might not have noticed before.

"Well, you know, it's the boonies, but I love it. I mean, the towns around us have people loosing their homes, their farms. But here, it's almost like we're blessed."

Dean looked at me and my eyebrows shot up so high they almost met my hairline. He turned back to her, but I kept my eyes on his face trying to figure out what he was thinking. "Hey, you been out to the orchard?" he asked her. "Seen that... that scarecrow?"

"Yeah, it creeps me out."

"Whose is it?"

"I don't know. It's just always been there." I was watching her carefully and nothing about her mannerisms or body-language suggested she was lying.

"That your aunt and uncles?" She glanced back at the car, and Dean looked at me quickly.

"Customer. Had some car troubles," Emily responded with another smile at Dean.

"Its not a couple is it? A guy and a girl?" I frown as he asked the question. Did he think the town people have something to do with this?

Dean took my hand in his and pulled me away surprising me. I was about to protest when he slung his arm around my shoulder and leaning down to whisper in my ear. I could feel his breath on my neck, I fought the urge to shiver in response and made myself listen to what he was saying.

"Her aunt and uncle... I don't trust 'em. And there was this guy, Scotty, from earlier. He was really abrupt when I showed him the photos," Dean whispered.

"Okay, there is one thing that you haven't explained," I whispered back.

"What's that?"

"Why do you have your arm around me."

He smirked. "Why, do you like it, Bella?" My face flushed and I had to look at the floor for a moment to compose myself.

"As much as I'd like my arm if it was infected with gangrene," I said dryly.

He chuckled. "You know what, Singer, I like you."

I smiled despite myself and we walked a little further down the street. "You didn't answer."

"What?"

"Your arm?" I raised my eyebrow.

"This thing goes after couples, right?" I nodded in understanding. "So let's give it a couple who can defend themselves." He smiled and opened a door to a diner, I raised my eyebrow but stepped inside.

I paused letting Dean take the lead. He waved at the guy who was serving a couple but he looked less than pleased to see Dean. "Hiya, Scotty."

"Can we get two coffees... black?" He looked down at the couple as we passed. "Oh and I'll have some of that pie, too, while your at it." He smiled, sliding into a seat. I sat to his left so I was facing the couple. "Just passing through?" he asked them.

The woman looked up and the man turned to face us. "Road trip," she smiled and went back to her food.

He nodded and glanced at me. "Yeah, us too," he grabbed my hand from where I had placed it on the table "...ain't that right, babe?" He smiled at me and I grinned back sweetly before nodding.

Scotty appeared from the back and approached the couple's table again. He eyed us as he refilled their glasses.

"I'm sure these people wanna eat in peace," he said as if we were children and I bit my tongue to keep from saying something sarcastic.

"Just a little friendly conversation," Dean said smirking still firmly holding my hand. Scotty didn't spare me a glance as he walked by us. He kept his eyes on Dean. "Oh, and that coffee too, by the way, thanks." I rolled my eyes at him.

I turned around watching Scotty leave as Dean went back to talking to the couple. "So, what brings you to town?" he asked.

"We just stopped for gas and the guy at the gas station saved our lives," the woman replied.

"Is that right?" Dean asked. I continued watching Scotty. He picked up a phone but I couldn't hear what he was saying because he was too far away.

"Yeah." It was the guy who spoke this time. "One of our brake lines was leaking. We had no idea. He's fixing it for us." My head snapped back around at that. _Say what? _Dean looked at me meaningfully. Clearly, he'd had the same thought.

"Nice people," Dean said and I could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Yeah," the guy answered.

"So how long until your up and running?" he asked.

"Sundown."

"Really?" He seemed to be talking to himself, but he leaned forward, still keeping a hold on my hand. "To fix a brake line?" The guy frowned but nodded. "You know, I know a thing or two about cars. I could have you up and running in an hour. Wouldn't charge you." I rolled my eyes at him. _Way to be subtle about it, Dean._

"You know, thanks a lot, but I think we'd rather a mechanic do it."

"Sure, yeah." He opened his mouth to carry on and I squeezed his hand, begging him to shut up. He shot me a confused look and carried on. "You know, it's just that these roads, they're not real safe at night." I resisted the urge to shake my head.

The couple glanced at each other. "I'm sorry?" the woman asked.

"I know it sounds strange, but you might be in danger." I actually shook my head at him this time. _Way to go, _I thought, _you've managed to completely freak them out. _The woman frowned and the man turned back around.

"We're trying to eat, okay?"

Dean went to speak again but I pulled him towards me. "Seriously?" I whispered and he raised an eyebrow at me. "Are you always that stupid or were you making a special effort just now?"

The door to the diner opened just as Scotty reappeared behind us. "Oh no," I whispered and Dean looked up to the sheriff that had just walked in.

* * *

**A/N: Rewritten and reposted 10/1/13. All outfits are on my profile. Ruby x.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

* * *

Chapter Two

Dean opened the trunk of the Impala. "You're gonna need a bigger gun than that." He smirked at me and cocked his head towards my handgun, making me roll my eyes at his arrogance; my little gun worked just fine, however he was right – I would need a bigger one.

"Well, I'd have my own if some _genius_ hadn't got us kicked out of town where my truck, with all my things is," I smiled sarcastically.

"Yeah, yeah, we get it. I _suck_. Here," he said as he thrust a sawed-off shotgun at me.

I grabbed it with one hand and tilted it toward myself. "Double barrel, nice," I commented and Dean shook his head. "What?" I asked cocking my head to the side.

"You're not like any girl I've ever met," he stated, a huge grin spreading across his face.

"I'll take that as a compliment, Mr Winchester."

"You do that, Miss Singer." He told me as he loaded his gun and snapped it shut. "Let's hunt."

I heard the woman scream, the cold chill that used to rush up my spine and raise the hairs on my arms, now a faint echo compared to my first times hunting; this was just my job now. We both rushed in that direction, my heart steady and mind focused. We came face to face with them just as the scarecrow was gaining ground on the petrified couple.

"Get back to your car," I yelled at them. The guy turned around as the scarecrow turned the corner.

"Go! Go!" Dean yelled. The guy grabbed his girlfriend's hand and set off at a run. We both let off a few shots at the scarecrow but it didn't stop, its body merely jerking as the rounds cut through its torso; our guns were obviously useless.

"Run?" I asked quickly, inwardly cursing myself for not being prepared; I hated running away.

"Run," Dean agreed and we took off, but kept turning and shooting rounds at it. "Go! Go!" Dean yelled at the couple again and we gave up shooting to run full speed behind them. We led them to the Impala and then huddled against the car as Dean and I stood in front of them, weapons aimed, in case that thing came back looking for them.

"What the hell was that?" the man asked breathlessly.

"Don't ask," I told him, shaking my head – he really didn't need to know about how fucked up the world was.

We followed the couple outside town limits and then pulled over. I looked over at Dean and wondered if he any ideas on how to get rid of the scarecrow. "So what now?" I asked him.

* * *

I hummed quietly to the song Dean was playing as he spoke to his brother, Sam. "No. I can cope without you, you know," he answered a question I didn't hear and I laughed quietly – sure he can cope, as long as he finds a petite brunette to do all the thinking. He shot me a glare and carried on talking.

"I know. I'm actually on my way to a local community college. I got an appointment with a professor. You know, since I don't have my trusty sidekick geek boy to do all the research."

I chuckled at him but I could tell he wished his brother was here. "I'm not hinting anything," I could hear the defensive edge in his voice. He looked at me and seemed to get a glint in his eye. "Actually, I'm not alone."

He put the phone on speaker in time for me to hear his brother speak, "really?" I heard his brother ask in a surprised tone; clearly these boys weren't used to playing with others – but neither was I. He placed the phone in middle of the dashboard.

"Yes, really! Say hello, Bella." I raised my eyebrow at him and he nodded at the phone. I just looked at him blankly; was he serious – he wanted me to make small talk with his little brother? He took his right hand off the wheel and poked me in the ribs causing me to squeal.

"Fine, fine, I'll talk. Hi Deans brother," I laughed.

"The name is Sam," he replied. "Dean, what are you doing?"

"Relax, Sammy. She's a hunter. She Bobby's daughter. I got her kicked out of town and..."

"Yeah 'cause you're about as good with people as a rotting corpse," I ribbed him, my words causing Sam to laugh.

"Anyway, her truck is there and I couldn't leave her in the orchard with that _thing_, hunter or not." He abruptly picked up the phone, taking it off speaker and saying something too low for me to hear. I looked out the window deliberately tuning him out. "Call me when you find Dad," he finally said.

Dean shut the phone and stared out the front window not speaking. When we arrived, Dean insisted on going in on his own. I sat with my feet up on the dashboard tapping them along to the music that was playing. I dived out of view when I saw a police car pull up. I poked my head up and saw the Sheriff from earlier head inside the university. I pulled out my phone but I realized I didn't have his number. "Shit," I cursed. I ducked out of view again when I saw the Sheriff carry an unconscious Dean from the building.

I watched until they drove away before sliding into the driver's seat and getting the hell away from the university before they came looking for me too.

* * *

It was nightfall when I finally reached the Burkitsville sign. I pulled up at the entrance to the Orchard and grabbed the shotgun I had used the night before. I grabbed a gun for Dean and made my way quickly into the Orchard. When I approached, I could hear people talking I used the trees as cover to get close enough and I saw Emily and Dean being tied to two of the trees by some of the towns people. I watched them leave just as the sun was setting, looking around I was just about to step out to free them when I heard someone approaching behind me. I quickly scaled the tree knowing I had no where else to hide. It was too dark to see the person but I ascertained that it was man and he was heading straight for Dean and Emily. Once I was out of the tree I made my way to where I had last seen Dean with my gun raised.

Emily was tied to a tree; Dean and another guy were looking at the stand where the scarecrow should have been. A twig snapped beneath my foot, Emily screamed and all three heads turned my way. My eyes landed on the man beside Dean who I guessed was his brother. My gaze quickly moved to Dean and I breathed a sign of relief when I saw he was okay.

"Relax, it's just me," I directed my consoling words towards the quivering form of Emily as I tossed Dean the spare gun.

"Who are you?" The other man asked, his eyes filled with confusion.

"This is Bella," Dean said. "Bella this is my brother, Sammy." Dean grinned coming to stand beside me, obviously extremely pleased with himself – for what reason I had no clue.

"I told you, don't call me that," he said as he cut Emily free from the bindings.

I heard something rustle behind us, both Dean and I swung our guns in that direction. "Run?" I asked in the same tone as the night before.

Dean grinned down at me. "Run," he agreed passing his shotgun off to Sam and grasping my hand, pulling me into a jog. Sam looked at us weird but he and Emily followed.

"All right, now this sacred tree you were talking about?" Sam asked Dean.

"It's the source of its power," Dean replied, looking over his shoulder briefly.

"So, let's find it and burn it," I said, as though stating the obvious.

"In the morning," Dean answered. "Let's just haul ass before Leather-face catches up."

I chuckled lightly, Dean grinned and Sam looked at us strangely again. We all stopped when we heard something rustling. Both Sam and I raised our guns as we came face to face with Emily's Aunt and Uncle.

"We're surrounded," Dean whispered, standing behind me, his warm breath tickling my neck. I involuntarily shivered at the thought of him being so close; what the hell was wrong with me – we were hunting – I needed to keep my head in the game.

Something growled and everyone looked around warily. "Please let us go," Emily begged, her eyes filled with tears as she shook with fear.

"It'll be over quickly, I promise," her Uncle said with a watery smile, and I could hear him trying to not cry. These people may have been sick, but at least this guy seemed to feel some remorse.

"Please!" Emily tried again, her hands clasped in front of her in a pleading gesture.

"Emily, you have to let him take you."

"What about me?" I asked.

"What?" Dean, Sam and Emily demanded at the same time.

"Let Emily go. Let him take me instead." Her Aunt and Uncle looked at each other but Dean pushed my behind putting himself firmly between me and the townspeople. Her uncle opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by his wife's scream as something came through the front of his chest. Emily screamed and hid her face in Sam's chest. I stepped back around Dean raising my gun, I moved so I was in front of Dean and I could feel his breath on my neck. The scarecrow pulled the knife back out of his chest and Emily's aunt continued to scream as it grabbed her and everyone else scattered like fleeing rats. It hooked its knife into her husband's leg and dragged them both away into the darkness.

"Come on, let's go," Dean said, putting his hands on my shoulders. I lowered my gun turning to face him. He grinned, grabbing my hand. I didn't have time to say anything before he pulled me into a run behind them. We reached the edge of the Orchard and turned back to look. I realized after a moment Dean still held my hand. We stared at each other for a moment before Sam cleared his throat and we let go, looking at him. He grinned knowingly at us.

* * *

The next day saw us returning to the Orchard. I carried a can of gasoline as I followed Emily and Sam through the trees. Dean was walking silently beside me, and my whole body seemed hyper aware of him. Emily came to a stop in front of a tree that had strange markings on the bark. Dean took the can from me, and I gasped when his fingers brushed mine. He looked down at me for a moment before stepping up to the tree and coating it in gasoline.

Sam picked up a branch and set fire to it. "Let me," Emily said with determination lacing her every word, and reached for it.

"You know, the whole town is gonna die," he told her as she took it from him.

"Good," she said stepping towards it, and I quickly moved beside Dean. Sam came to stand by us on my other side. Emily threw the branch at the base of the tree and stepped back to stand with us, Dean and Sam shared a look before we all watched it burn.

We all watched Emily board a bus for Boston. She waved at us, her eyes lingering on Dean before she disappeared into the coach and it pulled away. "Think she's gonna be all right?" Sam asked.

"I hope so," Dean said.

"And the rest of the townspeople... they'll just get away with it?" I asked.

"What will happen to the town will have to be punishment enough," Dean said and started walking toward the Impala.

I followed them with the intention of asking for a ride back to town to get my truck. "So can I drop you off somewhere?" Dean asked Sam.

"No, I think you're stuck with me," Sam smiled and Dean came to a stop.

"What made you change your mind?" Dean asked and I watched them with amusement.

"I didn't," Sam shook his head. "I still want to find Dad and you're still a pain is the ass." Dean nodded his agreement and I smirked. "But Jess and Mom... They're both gone. God knows where Dad is. You and me... We're all that's left. So if we're gonna see this through we're gonna do it together."

"Hold me, Sam," he said and Sam raised an eyebrow. "That was beautiful," Dean put his hand on Sam's shoulder but he shrugged it off. "Come on," Dean picked up his pace, resuming his walk to the Impala.

"You should be kissing my ass. You were dead meat, dude." Sam pointed at Dean who turned back around.

"Yeah, right. I had a plan. I'd have gotten out, besides I had Bella." They both stopped mid-stride and turned to look at me.

"What will you do now?" Sam asked.

"I need to go back to crazy town. My truck is there," I said shrugging.

"Are you attached to the truck, Bella?" Dean asked and I frowned at him.

"Not Particularly, I was gonna ditch it soon. I stole it when my previous car got totalled in Minnesota, why?"

"Ride with us," Dean offered and I openly looked surprised.

"You're sure?"

"Yeah, you kinda saved my life today and as I said, I like you, Singer," Dean said with a grin and Sam looked between us frowning. I walked past Sam and slide into the back of the car.

"So where to boys?" I asked leaning through the middle of the seats once they had both climbed in.

* * *

**A/N: Rewritten and reposted 10/1/13. All outfits are on my profile. Ruby x.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

* * *

Chapter Three

I sat with Dean at the table of a coffee shop while Sam made a phone call outside. I had accidentally got some sugar on Dean's laptop and he had retaliated by pouring loads into my hair. I had my head between my knees upside down trying to get it out when Sam came back to our table. "Your half-caf double vanilla latte is getting cold over here, Francis," Dean mocked Sam, I could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Bite me," Sam replied before sitting down on Dean's other side. "What are you doing?"

I sat up straight and fixed my hair. "Why don't you ask Dean," I said, sounding childish as I glared at him. He looked up at me with a smile before looking to Sam.

"Little Miss Clumsy over here had an accident with the sugar." I scoffed and crossed my arms over my chest petulantly, but didn't say anything. "So, anything?" he asked Sam.

"I had them check the FBI's missing person's data bank. No John Doe's fitting Dad's description. I even ran his plates for traffic violations." Sam slumped down into a chair and Dean leaned back, spreading his legs so his thigh was pressed against mine. I tried to keep my face neutral so that he wouldn't know how even this simple touch seemed to affect me and took a sip of my drink.

"Sam, I'm telling you, I don't think Dad wants to be found," Dean said, his voice sounding serious for a moment. He turned his laptop so Sam and I could see it. "Check this out. It's a news item out of Plains Courier, Ankeny, Iowa. It's about a hundred miles from here."

"The mutilated body was found near the victim's car parked on Nine-Mile Road." Sam read straight from the article.

"Keep reading," Dean encouraged.

"Authorities are unable to provide a realistic description of the killer. The sole eyewitness, whose name has been withheld, says the attacker was invisible."

"Could be something interesting," Dean suggested.

"Or it could be nothing at all," I took advantage of Sam's distraction to shift my position, crossing my legs so I wasn't touching Dean any more. He looked my way for a split second before going back to talking to Sam. "A witness who didn't see anything doesn't mean it's the 'Invisible Man'."

"But what if it is?" Dean asked. "Dad would check it out." I smiled at what Dean was doing and took another sip of my drink to hide it. Sam stood and headed for the Impala without a word. Dean smirked and held up his hand for me to high five him; I leaned over with a smile doing just that.

* * *

"We're here," Sam nudged me and I sat up abruptly. "Whoa." He held both his hands up and turned back to face the front. I watched as we drove past one big perfect house after another. Finally we turned a corner and pulled up. I followed Sam round the front of the car and two guys who were working on their own car were watching us.

"One more time, why are we here?" Sam asked.

"Victim lived here," I answered for Dean who smiled at me.

"See; she listens," he told Sam.

"Remind me how we are explaining our sudden appearance?" I questioned.

"University students, new in town," Dean answered my question in two short phrases, before we approached the boys. Sam and I flanked Dean like always. "Nice wheels. We're your fraternity brothers, from Ohio." Sam leaned back slightly and raised his eyebrows while I shook my head. It was like he completely forgot I was here sometimes.

"Who's the girl?" The guy in the red jacket asked.

"Oh, Bella?" he said my name like a question.

"She's Dean girlfriend," Sam told them grinning as he slapped Dean on the shoulder and I'm sure my expression matched his horrified one.

"Yeah, my girlfriend," he drawled and I blushed. Dean turned back to the boys with a smirk, as he put his arm around my shoulders. "We're new in town; Transfers looking for a place to stay."

* * *

I shook my head and wondered how I'd agreed to this again. I looked around again hoping no-one spotted me lurking outside the boy's dorm. I breathed a sigh of relief when the window opened and Sam held his hand out for me.

"He's the artist," I heard Dean say as Sam helped me through the window. "Things he can do with a brush."

"Whoa, she shouldn't be here," the guy said and both Sam and I looked over at Dean and the boy who was painting himself blue? I arched my eyebrows in surprise.

"That's exactly why she came in through the window. She's my girl." I blushed at Dean's choice of words and watched Sam as he stepped forward taking the brush and paint from the guy. "So, 'Morph' is it true?" Dean asked. I sat down on the bed beside Dean as he pretended to read some book while asking the blue guy questions.

"What?"

"We heard one of the guys around here got killed last week," Dean said. He really had no subtlety about him.

"Yeah," the guy answered, looking away.

"What happened?" I asked gazing up at him in the mirror which he had been previously using to paint himself.

"They're saying some psycho with a knife; maybe a drifter passing through." He shrugged. "Rich was a good guy."

"Rich was with somebody?" Sam asked.

"Not just somebody; Lori Sorenson." He had turned to look at Sam with an incredulous look on his face; were we supposed to know who this girl was? The way he said her name was a little off.

"Who's _Lori Sorenson_?" I asked.

"You missed a spot," Dean said looking up at Sam with a cocky smirk – he was enjoying this far too much. "Just down there in the back." I bit my lip to keep from laughing as Sam and the guy both looked at his ass. Sam glared at Dean who went back to reading.

"Lori's a freshman," the guy answered my question, completely ignoring Dean. "She's local, super-hot. And get this she's a Reverend's daughter." He was addressing Dean now who had stopped reading altogether to listen; I rolled my eyes at the look on the boy's face when he talked about this girl. _How pathetic_.

Dean shut the book in his hands and leaned forward. "You wouldn't happen to know which church, would you?"

* * *

"-we should reflect on what this tragedy means-" The reverend was already talking when we entered the church "-to us as a church." The door slammed and both Dean and I turned to glare at Sam as the Reverend stopped talking and everyone looked at us.

"What?" Sam whispered.

"-as a community-" he carried on as we took seats by the back "-and as a family. The loss of a young person is particularly tragic." I thought for a moment of Ben and tears sprang into my eyes. I noticed a girl at the front hadn't turned back around to face the front and I wondered idly if she was Lori. I smiled sadly at her and she looked at me for a moment before turning her attention back to the Reverend. "A life unlived is the saddest of passings. So please, let us pray, for peace, for guidance, and for the power to protect our children." Everyone bowed their heads and I peeked up at Dean to see him staring forward and not listening. I nudged him roughly until he bowed his head too.

"I should approach her," I insisted as we exited the church.

"Why?" Dean asked.

"Because she's just watched her boyfriend die; she isn't gonna respond well to either of you."

"She's right," Sam backed me up.

"Fine," Dean conceded.

I watched as Lori cuddled someone - I was guessing they were a friend of hers - before she walked away. I approached Lori before she had a chance to leave. "Are you Lori?" I asked.

"Yeah." She turned around and her eyes flickered over Sam and Dean before they finally settled on me.

"My name is Bella, this is Sam and Dean." I gestured towards them.

"Her boyfriend," Sam butted in, unhelpfully I turned around giving him a 'shut-the-hell-up' look.

"Anyway," I said slowly, "we just transferred to the University."

"I saw you inside," she said and her eyes were focused on Sam. I looked between them and smiled. Looked like Lori fancied our Sammy.

"We don't want to bother you. We just heard about what happened-" Sam trailed off, allowing his unsaid words to convey his sympathy.

"We wanted to say how sorry we were. I kinda know what you're going through," I told her, sounding sympathetic. "I saw someone get hurt once. It's something you don't forget." I wasn't sure if I was talking about Charlie or Ben but I could feel Dean and Sam looking at me so I decided not to go there.

She nodded but didn't say anything, I could see her dad approaching over her shoulder. "Dad, this is Sam, Bella and Dean. They're new students."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." Dean reached out a hand for him to shake. "I must say, that was an inspiring sermon."

"Thank you very much. It's so nice to find young people who are open to the Lord's message."

We all shared a look and Dean smiled at Lori. "Listen we're new in town, actually," Dean began leading the Reverend away "and we're looking for a church group." I smiled politely at Lori before leaving her with Sam. I turned briefly for a moment watching them walk the other way, pity for the innocent girl overwhelming me.

* * *

"So you believe her?" Dean asked Sam as they followed me through the local library. Lori had told Sam that on the night her boyfriend was killed she hadn't seen what was attacking them, almost as if it was invisible.

"I do," Sam answered.

"Yeah, I think she's hot too," Dean turned to Sam when he said it. I rolled my eyes at him when he turned back around, he gave me a what-did-I-do look. I carried on walking as I wondered why it bothered me that Dean had said he thought she was hot; it was only his opinion.

"No, man, there's something in her eyes," Sam insisted. "And listen to this; she heard scratching on the roof. Found the bloody body suspended upside down over the car."

"Bloody body suspended, sounds like..." Dean began.

"The Hook Man Legend," I smiled, butting in.

Dean scowled at me. "It's one of the most famous urban legends ever. You don't think we're dealing with _the _Hook Man?" He asked.

"Every urban legend has a source," I insisted, "a place where it all began." Sam looked amused at us.

"What about the phantom scratches, tire punches and the invisible killer?" Dean asked.

"Maybe the Hook Man isn't a man at all. What if it's some kind of spirit?"

Dean seemed to think about it for a moment and then set off again.

* * *

"Here you go." The library clerk said as she placed a box on the table. "Arrest records going back to 1851."

"Thanks," Sam smiled at her.

"So this is how you spent four good years of your life, huh?" Dean asked, slightly sarcastically.

"Welcome to higher education," Sam shot back with a smile.

We had been searching for hours with no luck, I had put my head down on the table seriously contemplating sleep when Sam finally found something. "Hey, check this out," he said to both Dean and I. I blinked up at him before standing up and following Dean over to him. "1862, a preacher named Jacob Carnes was arrested for murder. He was so angry over the red-light district in town that one night he killed 13 prostitutes. Look, right here," he paused for a moment before reading straight from an article. "Some of the deceased were found in their beds, sheets soaked in blood and others suspended upside down from trees as a warning again sins of the flesh."

Dean picked up another piece paper that had the image of a man on it. "Get this, the murder weapon? Looks like the preacher lost his hand in an accident, had it replaced with a silver hook."

"Look where all this happened." Sam pointed to the article.

"Nine-Mile road," Dean read.

"Where the frat boy was killed," I whispered.

"Nice job, let's check it out."

Sam packed all the papers away as I followed Dean from the library.

* * *

I climbed out of the Impala and followed Sam and Dean around the back. I still had a bad feeling about coming here, but after Dean had teased me about being afraid last time I mentioned it, I kept my mouth firmly shut. Sam kept a lookout as Dean opened the false bottom of the boot revealing all the weapons.

"Here you go." Dean pressed a shotgun into my hands and passed Sam some rope.

"If it is a spirit, buckshot won't do much good," I said looking at the gun.

"Yeah," Dean said standing back up, before explaining, "rock salt." He held his hand out, allowing me to take a few shells.

"Huh." Sam sounded impressed. "Salt being a spirit deterrent."

"Yeah. It won't kill them but it'll slow them down."

"That's pretty good," I admitted as I let Dean lead me around the front of the car with Sam following as he hoisted the rope over his shoulder.

"Don't know why you doubt me, Singer." Dean smirked at me over his shoulder.

"Bite me, Winchester," I shot back.

"You and Dad think of this?" Sam asked shutting us both up.

"I told you; ya don't have to be a college graduate to be a genius," Dean told Sam with a grin as we spread out into a line, Sam and Dean on either side of me. Something moved in the bushes in front of us and I raised my gun, ready. "Over there, over there," Dean whispered and I pointed my gun in the direction he was looking.

Something definitely moved this time and I tensed ready to shoot. "Put the gun down now!" I instantly lowered my gun, shocked when a cop appeared from the trees. "Now," he repeated and I cast my gun aside out of surprise. "Put your hands on your head." I looked at Sam alarmed as he dropped his rope to the floor.

"Okay, okay," Dean said.

"Get down on your knees." I hesitated and the cop pointed his gun at me. "Come on, do it," he told me. I tried to drop to my knee as gracefully as I could, not removing my hands from the back of my head. "Now get down on your bellies."

I didn't need telling twice, not wanting the gun pointing at me again. "She had the gun," Dean whined as he lay down next to us.

* * *

I rubbed my sore wrists as I followed Dean from the police station the morning after. "Saved your ass; talked the Sheriff down to a fine," Dean gloated as he turned and grinned at me. "Dude, I'm Matlock."

"But how?" I asked as we stepping off the sidewalk towards the Impala where Sam was waiting for us.

"Told them you were a dumb ass pledge and we were hazing you."

"What about the shotgun?"

"I said that you were hunting ghosts and that spirits were repelled by rock salt. Typical 'Hell Week' prank," Dean filled me in and I had to smile at him. I had to admit, he had his _genius_ moments.

"And he believed you?" I asked.

"Well you look like a dumbass pledge," he said turning to look at me. Sam smiled up at us both and I was just about to shoot a sarcastic comment at him when a bunch of cops came running out of the station and sped off in their cars. I watched them drive away before looking down at Sam then across at Dean questioningly. Dean nodded and we slid into the Impala before speeding after them.

* * *

We slowed to a crawl as we pulled up in front of the sorority house that Lori lived in. The house was surrounded by cop cars and an ambulance was sat in the driveway. My eyes fixed on Lori who sat in the back of an ambulance looking terrified. My mind flashed back to the weeks and months after Victoria's attack and my heart went out to Lori as I sympathized with what she would likely be feeling.

Dean drove further down the block and parked, so we wouldn't draw attention. We all piled out and shut the doors quietly. I followed Sam and Dean as we sneaked under the bushes round the back of the house. I kept close behind Dean as we pressed ourselves to the wall down the side of the house so the cops up front wouldn't see us. "Why would the Hook Man come here, so far from Nine-Mile road?" I asked quietly.

"Maybe he's not haunting the scene of his crime. Maybe it's about something else," Dean whispered glancing back. Two girls came out the side door and Sam pushed Dean back into me. Dean turned so he didn't hurt me and his whole body pushed mine to the wall. I looked up at him startled; I couldn't fathom the expression on his face. Dean smiled at me nervously and pulled back, turning away. I took a deep breath to calm my racing heartbeat.

"Dude, sorority girls," Dean commented moving past Sam so he could peek around the corner. Sam nodded to the porch roof and I rolled my eyes stepping forward to hoist myself up. "Think we'll see a naked pillow fight?"

"Pig!" I whispered, trying to hide the jealousy and slight hurt in my voice, Dean spun around in time to see my feet before I pulled them over the roof. I reached my hand down for Sam to take and Dean put his hand under Sam's foot, pushing him up. Once Sam had hold of the porch roof, I turned and climbed onto the attached balcony slipping out of sight. I watched Lori's dad leading her away and then I turned, spying the window behind me that was thankfully open. Sam and Dean had caught up to me by this point. I smirked at Dean before pushing the window further open slowly and folded myself inside easily.

I turned around with a giggle as I watched Sam and Dean both throw themselves through the window head first.

"Be quiet," Dean hissed at Sam.

"Me, be quiet? You be quiet!" Sam shot back. I laughed quietly and they both looked up.

"Very graceful, boys," I observed with a smirk. Sam glared up at me and Dean had his signature smirk on his face. I turned and as peaked round the slightly open door as Dean and Sam pulled themselves off the floor. I pushed the door open ever so slightly and my eyes fell on the bloody bed sheets. A shadow passed across the door way and I pulled back as a cop crossed the room and left. I hesitantly pushed it open further and paused when it squeaked, I waited to see if the cop came back. When he didn't I stepped into the room glancing round. "Well we definitely have the right room," I stated the obvious as I approached the door and watched the cop disappear from sight. I turned back to Sam and Dean who both had their eyes fixed on the far wall. I followed their line of sight and my eyes found the writing on the wall that I had missed before in my rush to make sure the cop didn't come back.

"Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the light?" Sam read the words from the wall. "That's right out of the legend."

"Yeah, that classic Hook Man, all right," Dean said, frowning. "And it's definitely a spirit." Dean touched his nose.

"Yeah," Sam responded. "I've never smelled ozone this strong before."

Dean wondered over to the window and I looked back at the message scratched into the wall. I tilted my head as my eyes were drawn to the symbol underneath.

"Hey, come here," I waved Dean over before continuing, "does that look familiar to you?" I asked the brothers pointing to the symbol.

"Yeah," Sam replied, before disappearing back the way we came. Dean and I shared a quick look before we followed him.

* * *

**A/N: Rewritten and reposted 26/5/13. All outfits are on my profile. Ruby x.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

* * *

Chapter Four

Sam pulled the file that we took from the library from the back seat and leaned against the hood. I perched next to him and Dean leaned on my other side.

Sam finally found what he was looking for and held up the article about Jacob Carnes which had a picture of the hook he had instead of a right hand. "It's the same symbol," Sam said pointing to the hook and there on the side of it was the imaged that had been scratched into Lori's bedroom wall.

"Seems like it is the spirit of Jacob Carnes," I said not taking my eyes off the image.

"Well, let's find the dude's grave, salt and burn the bones, and put him down," Dean suggested.

Sam frowned and began reading from the paper in his hand. "After execution, Jacob Carnes was laid to rest in Old North Cemetery in an unmarked grave."

"Super," Dean dead panned and stood up walking around to the drivers side of the car.

"Okay," Sam said copying him and walking to the passenger side. I stood too turning to watch them, I didn't trust myself to not to stare at Dean and looked at Sam instead, it was easier to keep my gaze impassive. "So we know it's Jacob Carnes but we still don't know where he'll manifest next or way." Dean picked up the flyer that had been put underneath his windscreen wiper.

"I'll take a wild guess about why," Dean said as he opened his door. "I think your little friend Lori has something to do with this." I frowned at him. Sam and Dean climbed in the car and I rushed round the side and slid in behind Dean.

* * *

I was stood awkwardly beside Sam as we observed the college kids partying. Dean had barely spoken two words to me since I stepped out of the bathroom earlier dressed in my tank top and jeans after my shower. "Man, you've been holding out on me. This college thing is awesome," Dean declared appearing from nowhere seemingly oblivious to the glares Sam and I were giving him.

"This wasn't really my experience," Sam mumbled.

"Oh let me guess," Dean said turning around. "Library, studying, straight A's. What a geek." Dean shook his head glancing around the room again. "All right, did you do your homework?"

"Yeah," Sam said with enthusiasm and jumped into action. Dean smirked at me over Sam's shoulder and I bit back a laugh despite the fact I was kinda pissed at him. "It was bugging me, right? How is the Hook Man tied up with Lori?" Sam led us away from the main room into a quiet corridor. "So I think I found something."

He unrolled a piece of paper and handed it to Dean. "1932, Clergyman Arrested for Murder," Dean read out loud, he flipped to the second page. "1967, Seminarian Held in Hippie Rampage."

Sam pointed to the page as Dean set off walking again leading us into a pool room and passed the pool table into a another hall that was completely empty. "There's a pattern here. In both cases, the suspect was a man of religion who openly preached against immorality and then found himself wanted for killings he claimed were the work of an invisible force." Dean didn't look at me the whole time and for some reason it was starting to bug me, I got the impression he was doing on purpose. "Killing carried out, get this, with a sharp instrument."

"What's the connection to Lori?" Dean asked.

"A man of religion who openly preaches against immorality?" Dean closed his eyes nodding in understanding. "Except maybe this time instead of saving the whole town he's just trying to save his only daughter."

"Reverend Sorenson," Dean said.

"You think he's summoning the spirit?" I asked playing Dean at his own game I fixed my eyes on Sam.

"Maybe," Sam answered and I could feel Dean looking at me but refused to meet his gaze. "Or you know how a poltergeist can haunt a person instead of a place?"

"Yeah, the spirit latches on to the reverend's repressed emotions, feeds off them," Dean nodded. "Yeah, okay."

"Without the reverend even knowing it," I whispered.

"Either way, you should keep an eye on Lori tonight," Dean told Sam. I knew that meant I would have to go with Dean, I looked down at the floor trying my hardest to keep my face neutral. Sam looked at me knowingly when I glanced back up but I pasted a smile on my face and tilted my head at him as if I was confused.

"What about you guys?" Sam asked. A blonde woman who had been eyeing Dean up since we had stopped here walked around the pool table and looked at him suggestively. Dean surprised me by throwing his arm around my shoulder and grinning at Sam.

"Me and Bells are gonna spend some quality time together. We're gonna go see if we can find that unmarked grave," Dean announced. Sam glanced up at the blonde, both Dean and I followed his gaze. She didn't look happy that Dean had his arm around me. Dean moved his arm from my shoulder placing his hand on my lower back, leading me past her without a second look. She glared at me jealously and I smirked enjoying winding her up I moved closer into Deans embraced. Dean looked at me surprised and I cast a look over my shoulder at the girl, I noticed Sam stood behind her still in the hall smiling at us. Dean followed my gaze and threw his head back laughing before wrapping his arm around my shoulders. He led me out the party without a backward glance back at Sam or the blonde.

* * *

I stomped behind Dean through the graveyard my coat pulled tightly around me in attempted to keep warm. "Remind me why we're doing this while Sam gets to cosy up to Little Miss Sorority?"

Dean chuckled quietly at me. "Are you telling me you're not enjoying this?" he asked searching the headstones with his flashlight.

"Not really," I said focusing on the headstones trying to sound distracted. "But if we ever get a case where a hot guy needs protection I'm gonna let you two do all dirty work while I play bodyguard."

Dean smirked at me and we moved on further into the cemetery. "So no boyfriend waiting back home then?"

"Not any more," I said, sadness seeping into my voice as I searched the graves not meeting his gaze. "My boyfriend was killed when I was 17."

"Oh?" Dean made a surprised noise. "Something supernatural?"

"Yeah, Vampires."

"Oh," he said sounding more resigned. I heard something move behind me and spun round searching with my flashlight. We walked a little further keeping quiet and something to my right caught my eye.

"Dean," I called out, nodding at the grave when he turned. "Think I found it." The stone had no name but it did have the symbol from Carnes hook on it. Dean smiled dropping his rucksack off to the side he handed me one of the shovels he had been carrying. I sighed and took one stabbing it into the ground and using my foot to push it down further.

* * *

I had given up about twenty minutes ago but Dean was stood up to his shoulders in the grave of Jacob Carnes. He paused a minute panting and looked over the edge at me. "That's it," Dean panted. "Next time I get to watch the cute girl's house." I chuckled quietly at Deans words.

Dean went to dig again but hit the coffin. He looked at me and smiled before smashing the top of the coffin in. I grabbed the salt and matches from my pack and put them at the edge of the grave. "Hello, preacher," Dean said and I laughed. I held out my hand helping him from the grave.

I poured the salt over the body and Dean came back with some lighter fluid. I handed Dean the matches and he lit one dropping it into the grave. "Good bye, preacher." Dean put his arm around my shoulder as we watched the bones burn.

* * *

We walked down the corridor in the hospital only to be stopped by two cops. "Its all right, we're with him. That's my brother. And she's -" he was cut off when I elbowed him in the ribs. "Hey, brother." Dean waved at Sam and the cop who were both watching us now.

"Let em through," the cop stood by Sam said and the two who had stopped us stepped aside letting us pass.

"Thanks," Dean said sounding anything but and followed me down towards Sam who had set off to meet us.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"What the hell happened?" Dean asked him.

"Hook Man," Sam whispered.

"You saw him?"

"Damn right." Sam looked at the cops warily. "Why didn't you burn the bones?"

"What? We did!" I defended.

"You sure its the spirit of Jacob Carnes?" Dean asked.

"Sure as hell looked like him. That's not all. I don't think he's latching onto the reverend."

"Well, yeah. The guy wouldn't send the Hook Man after himself."

"I think its latching on to Lori," Sam said. "Last night she found out that her father is having an affair with a married woman."

"So what?" Dean asked and I hit his arm. He rubbed it and pulled a face at me.

"So? She'll be upset about it," I told him.

"She's upset about the immorality of it. She told me she was raised to believe if you do something wrong, you get punished."

"Okay, so she's conflicted. The spirit of Carnes is latching on her repressed emotions and maybe he's doing the punishing for her?" Dean half-asked, half-stated.

"Right," Sam replied.

"So her boyfriend comes on too strong, Taylor tries to make her into a party girl, Dad has an affair," I summarized. It made sense.

"Remind me not to piss this girl off," Dean commented smirking. "But we burned those bones. Bells buried them in salt. Why didn't that stop him?"

"You must have missed something," Sam said.

"No, we burned everything in that coffin."

"What if what we missed wasn't in the coffin?" I asked. Both Sam and Dean looked at me with confused expressions. "His Hook wasn't in that coffin."

"His Hook?" Sam asked.

"It was the murder weapon, and in a way it was part of him."

"So like the bones, the hook is a source of his power." Dean nodded smiling down at me.

"So if we find the hook..." I trailed off.

"...we stop the Hook Man." Dean cuddled me to him grinning.

* * *

That is how I found myself back in the library. I was sat beside Dean at one of the tables while Sam was sat across from us. "This is useless!" I groaned and dropped my head onto my arms. Sam didn't comment but Dean chuckled lightly at me.

"Here's something, I think," Dean said about ten minutes later. I lifted my head from my arm and Sam looked over at Dean. "Logbook, Iowa State Penitentiary. 'Carnes, Jacob. Personal effects disposition thereof'."

"Does it mention the hook?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, maybe," Dean whispered as he read. "Upon execution, all earthy items shall be remanded to prisons house of worship, St. Barnabus Church."

"Isn't that where Lori's father preaches?" I asked.

"Yeah," Sam said smiling slightly at me.

"Where Lori lives?" I asked incredulous.

"Maybe that's why he's been haunting reverends and reverend's daughters for the past 200 years," Dean suggested looking between Sam and I.

"If the hook were there, don't you think someone might have seen it?" Sam asked. "I mean, a blood stained, silver-handled hook?"

"I'll check the church records," I said getting up and practically running from the table.

Dean was sat to my left chewing on his pen lid staring off into space and Sam was sat across from me. I could feel him watching me but every time I looked up he quickly glanced away as if he was trying to hide it. I struggled to make myself focus on what I was doing. I didn't think I could take much more of Dean's staring when I found what I was looking for. "Here we go," I said getting Dean's attention. "St. Barnabus, donation, 1862. Received: silver-handled hook from state penitentiary. Reforged." I shook my head in disbelief. "They melted it down. Made it into something else."

"So it could be anything?" Dean asked and I nodded. He stood grabbing his jacket and headed for the exit. "You two clowns coming?" He asked as we stared after him, I quickly stood following him with Sam behind me.

* * *

Dean pulled the Impala up close to the church and turned off the engine. I climbed out quickly and headed straight for the church not waiting. "Where the fire, Singer?" Dean asked me and I could hear the smile in his voice. I turned to him and glared but slowed my pace. Sam and Dean caught up with me and I moved so Sam was between Dean and I. Sam looked at me weird but then shook his head. "All right, we can't take any chances. Anything silver goes into the fire."

"I agree," Sam said.

"Lori's still in the hospital. We'll have to break in," I said shoving my hands in pockets.

"All right, take your pick," Dean told Sam.

"I'll take the house."

"Okay." Sam nodded and then looked down at me. "You with me Bella?" Sam asked and I nodded, we both turned and began walking away.

"Hey," Dean yelled out, Sam and I turned back to look at him. "Stay out of her underwear drawer." Sam frowned and we watched Dean walk away.

"He's such a pig sometimes," I stated heading for the house as I shoved my hands deeper into my pockets.

"He's harmless, he just thinks he's funny. Besides he always makes jokes to try and relieve tension."

"What's that suppose to mean?" I hissed at him.

"Its mean, Bella Singer, that when ever you two step with three feet of each other there's so much sexual tension it makes me horny," Sam replied as he knelt down and attempted to pick the lock on the back door.

"Okay, I did not need to know that and I don't feel that way about Dean," I blatantly lied easing open the window next to the door. I braced myself on the window ledge and pulled myself in.

"You don't actually feel that way or just don't wanna admit you do?" I heard Sam's muffled voice through the door. I stepped up to it and unlocked it surprising him.

"Shut up," I glared down at him and he smirked right back.

* * *

"Okay, I think I got everything," I told Sam when we met back up at the bottom of the stairs. We made our way quickly across to the church and into the basement where Dean was. He was currently throwing every piece of silver he could lay his hands on into the fire. I descended the stairs behind Sam and Dean turned grinning up at us.

I blushed remembering Sam's comments earlier and Dean smirked at me. "We got everything that even looked silver," Sam said throwing the bag down on a chair. "Better safe than sorry."

"I bet you say that to all the girls," I teased him, tilting my head to the side innocently. Sam looked shocked and Dean roared with laughter. My eyes flew to Dean and the honest to god smile on his face. It did things to my body I couldn't explain, he had a gorgeous smile and his eyes lit up when he was amused. I pulled my gaze away back to Sam when he spoke.

"Wouldn't you like to know!" The smirk on his face said he's caught me ogling his brother.

"You're right I wanna know so bad," I said sarcastically before turning away and throwing the silver things that we had collected into the fire.

A floorboard creaked above our heads and we all froze. I straightened up slowly and the floor creaked again.

"Move, move," Dean ordered dashing up behind me. He handed me my gun and grabbed his own. I followed Dean and Sam up the stairs. Dean stopped at the top and opened the door slowly. We both stepped out guns raised and Sam stepped in between us. I lowered my gun when I spotted Lori sat in the church up front. Dean did the same and then looked at Sam nodding for him to go. I watched Sam head towards Lori before I followed Dean back down to the basement closing the door behind me.

* * *

I dropped the last piece of silver in the fire and stood up. I was watching it burn when I felt as if something was behind me. I spun round and Dean looked at me weird. My eyes searched the small room and landed on the candle holder on the wall behind us. That candle had been lit when we came down and now it had gone out. My logical mind was telling it was probably wind but I wasn't sure. "Dean, some thing's wrong," I whispered.

"What -?" Deans question was cut off by Lori's scream from above. I grabbed my gun and ran up the stairs all my thoughts on helping Sam. I threw myself through the door at the top of the stairs. I couldn't see Sam or Lori anywhere. Glass smashed at the front of the church and Lori screamed again. I ran for the front of the church and I heard Sam grunt in pain.

"Sam," I screamed running full pelt. I stopped dead when Lori came flying out of nowhere and was laid on the rug in front of me. Sam came running down the corridor from the left holding his arm to his chest.

"Your arm," I breathed.

"It's nothing." He half-smiled at me before holding a hand out for Lori. "Come on," he said pulling her up. "You okay?" The Hook Man materialized behind him but before I could warn Sam he had hit him under his chest and sent him flying backwards into some bookshelves smashing them. Sam slumped forward and the shelves landed on him. I raised my gun to shoot but the Hook Man vanished. I spun round looking for him but he wasn't in the room anywhere. I took a step towards Sam and Lori screamed.

Before I could respond something hit my head from the left, flinging me into the wall with a surprising amount of force and my gun slid from hands.

"Ugh," I groaned in pain and I hit the floor.

"Sam, drop," I heard Dean yell and Sam dropped to the floor beside me as Dean shot rock salt bullets at the ghost.

I rolled over onto my back and raised my hand to my head hesitantly. I pulled it away my hand was covered in blood. "I thought we got all the silver!" I heard Sam yell.

"So did I," Dean responded.

"Then why is he still here?"

"Well, maybe we missed something."

I sat up slowly and Deans gaze fixed on me. "You're bleeding," he said, kneeling next to me.

"I'll be okay," I assured him.

"Lori, where did you get that chain?" I heard Sam ask and I looked at the chain holding a cross hanging from her neck.

"My father gave it to me."

"Where'd your dad get it?" Dean asked.

"He said it was a church heirloom."

"Is it silver?!" Sam demanded.

"Yes!" Sam grabbed it and ripped it off. We all froze when scratching sounded from the hall. Turning slowly I could see the mark coming closer to us. Dean was glaring over his shoulder and I ignored the throbbing in my head to look around him.

"Sam," Dean said his voice as a command as he disappeared from beside me. He threw his gun to Sam who caught it and stood up still holding his left arm to his chest. He handed Lori's necklace to Dean who darted off down the corridor and out of sight. Sam crouched down and reloaded the gun but before he could even point it at the Hook Man it was knocked from his hand.

I struggled to keep hold of my consciousness until I knew we were safe. Sam and Lori scrambled back until they were beside me. The Hook Man raised his hook but it started to melt mid air as he slowly burned up. I breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back on my elbows. Dean appeared at the end of the hall way suddenly and grinned at us .

I smiled at him gently before the blackness took over and I slumped to the floor again. "Bella!" I heard Dean and Sam yell simultaneously before I went under.

* * *

I blinked slowly as I came to. "Bells," I heard someone say and I looked up to see Sam sat in a chair to my left. I vaguely became aware of a beeping noise and I looked around realizing I was in hospital.

"What happened?" I croaked and my hand instantly went to my throat. Sam poured me some water and handed it to me. I took a sip and looked up at him expectantly.

"You hit your head when he knocked you aside. You split it open and you needed 5 stitches, you've also got a concussion," he explained.

"Where's Dean?" I asked.

"He's gone to sort out your discharge papers. He'll be right in." As soon as the words were out of Sam's mouth the door swung open to reveal Dean.

"Bella, you're awake," he smiled and stepped into the room. I grinned back at him, happy that we had made it through this alive.

"I'll go call us a cab and meet you guys out front," Sam said rising from his seat, Dean quickly filled his chair.

He took my hand in his and squeezed it gently. I looked up from our joined hands into his face, blushing. "I'm glad you're okay," he breathed and I flushed an even deeper shade of red. He leaned down and kissed my forehead gently.

* * *

"And you saw him too?" the cop questioning me asked. We were stood outside the church where it had all happened. We'd had to come back here to retrieve the car and this cop pinned me down to question me because I was the only one who they hadn't spoken with. "The man with the hook?"

"Yes, I told you," I snapped my head throbbing with pain. "We all saw him. We fought him off, and then he ran." I told him, repeating the story Dean and Sam drilled into me on the cab ride over here.

"And that's all?"

"Yeah, that's all." Dean put his hand on my shoulder and sent the cop a look that clearly said 'that's enough'.

He nodded and looked at Dean. "Listen, you two and your brother..." he pointed at Dean.

"Oh, don't worry we're leaving town." Dean placed his hand on my back and led me towards the Impala. I saw Sam talking to Lori and sympathy for her flared up in my chest yet again. I smiled weakly at her before sliding into the back of the car, laying down. I watched Dean look over at them before he climbed in as well. I closed my eyes and tried to ignore the throbbing in my head.

The passenger side door opened and Sam flopped himself down into the front seat. I opened my eyes enough to see Dean looking at Sam for a long moment before he started the car and pulled away. "You know Lori's lucky," I said.

"How do you figure that, Bella?" Sam asked.

"She still has her dad," I said not opening my eyes. "He had someone there to protect him when something supernatural attacked, not all of us are that lucky." I could feel all the questions they wanted to ask hanging heavy in the air, but I didn't speak again and finally fell asleep.

* * *

**A/N: Rewritten and reposted 26/5/13. All outfits are on my profile. Ruby x.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.  
**

* * *

Chapter Five

I listened to Dean and Sam argue as I watched our waiter approach our table yet again. "Radical," he greeted effectively ending Sam and Dean's fight. "What else can I get you guys?"

"I think we're good," Sam told him.

"Yeah?" he asked far too cheerfully.

"Yeah." Sam nodded.

"You wanna try some Fryer Bombs or a Chipotle Chili Chonga?" he pushed, still smiling sickeningly.

"No, no, we're still good," Dean said finally looking up at him.

"Okay, awesome," he declared, then walked away so fast he practically left smoke behind him. Sam and I watched him go before sharing a disbelieving look. I tuned the boys out as they went back to their fight, looking back at Sam's laptop, searching for a possible case when our over helpful friend reappeared.

"Outstanding," he announced smiling. "Dessert time? Am I right?"

"Dude-" Dean began but he was cut off.

"Listen, guys, you have to try our Ice Cream Extreme. It's extreme!" I raised my eyebrows at Dean who was smirking.

"No extremities, please," I told him, closing the laptop lid. "Just the-"

"Cheque?" he finished for me, producing it and once again walking away so fast it was almost cartoon like.

"All right, what do you got for me, Bella?" Dean asked me.

"Not sure," I responded frowning as I opened the laptop back up. "It's been pretty quiet lately, just the typical UFO sightings and one possible vengeful spirit, here check this out." I turned the laptop around, passing it across the table to them. "Up in Concrete, Washington, eyewitness reports of a ghost that's been haunting the showers of a woman's health facility." I frowned when Dean almost choked on his beer but carried on talking. "The victim claims that the ghost threw her down a flight of stairs." I watched as Dean shut the laptop and pulled out his wallet leaving a pile of bills on the table. I leaned back into my chair and crossed my arms smirking at him. "I can see you're very interested."

"Women, showers. We gotta save these people." I watched amused as he dashed away from us. Sam chuckled at my expression and I shook my head in mild disgust at how much of a pervert he was.

* * *

Sam and I climbed out of the Impala heading inside the restaurant where we were meeting the attack victim as Dean drove away. Sam held the door for me and I smiled, at least one of the brothers was a gentlemen.

"I'm not surprised the spirit world chose to make contact with me," the women sat across from Sam and I declared. "I'm something of a natural sensitive." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, she thought this made her special?

I picked up my water and took a mouthful whilst watching the couple across the room cuddling up in their corner booth. "I can sense that about you, Candace." Sam told her. "That whole sensitive thing." I choked on my water, spitting it out onto the table. Sam grinned but passed me a tissue and patted my back. I scowled up at him.

"So what did you say you were calling your book again?" she asked Sam.

"Well, the working title is _Supernatural_. We've been crossing the country gathering stories like yours, but anyways, you were telling me about your encounter."

"Yes, well, once I saw the apparition, that's when I started to run." I was half listening to the women as my eyes strayed back to the couple in the corner who currently had their tongues down each others throats. I saw Sam look over too out the corner of my eye. He looked back at me with his eyebrows raised and I just shook my head in silent answer.

"And you said the ghost chased you?" Sam asked Candace, looking back at her.

"Not just that, it knew my name. It kept yelling, 'Mrs Armstrong, Mrs Armstrong!' and that's when I hit the stairs and fell."

"Wait, you fell?" I questioned. "The ghost didn't push you?"

"Oh, I don't- I don't know. I mean, I think it did. Maybe."

"Did you feel like it meant to hurt you, like it was violent or-?" She cut Sam off.

"It was a ghost. I'm lucky to be alive! Anyway, I was at the bottom of the stairs and that's when it got weird; it helped me up."

"What?" Sam and I asked simultaneously.

"Yeah, it helped me up and it kept saying over and over, 'please don't tell my mum'"

I glanced sideways at Sam and he was frowning. "Yeah, that's weird," he agreed.

* * *

Dean was reading the paper sat on the front stairs of the women's health centre as Sam and I approached.

"Well, you pick up anything?" Sam asked him as he sat down next to him. I stayed standing, leaning against the post at the bottom of the stairs.

"No EMF in the shower or anywhere else. This house is clean," Dean filled us in.

"Yeah, I'm not surprised," I admitted. "I kind of got the feeling back there that 'crazy' pushed Mrs. Armstrong down the stairs."

Dean smirked up at me. "I gotta tell you, I'm disappointed."

"You just wanted to save naked women," I shot at him with a smirk.

"Damn right, I wanted to save naked women."

Sam laughed and I shook my head, biting back a smile at his pervy humour. I turned and set off walking away from the centre with Sam and Dean right behind me. We had just reached the public path when a bunch of kids chased a blonde boy past us. "Run, forest, run!" Dean yelled after them with a grin.

"I'm sorry, Dean but I don't think anything is going on here," Sam said. Dean opened his mouth to respond but I put my hand on his shoulder and nodded toward the two men not twenty yards from us that appeared to be arguing. One of them looked like he was a deputy.

"Something's going on," I told Sam and set off towards the men.

"I understand you got shook up," I heard the cop saying as we approached. "Anyone would be but don't you think it-? Don't you think it had to be a bear?"

"I know a damn bear track when I see one," the man yelled back. "This thing didn't leave bear tracks. It's feet were huge."

"Now Gus-" the deputy tried to reason.

"It was Bigfoot, Hal, _the _Bigfoot."

"Gus, you're not talking any sense here-"

"There's a Bigfoot out there, damn it, and he's a son of bitch." I shot an amused look at the boys before stepping forward with them on either side me.

"Excuse us. FBI," I announced flashing my fake badge at the two men turned around.

"What?" The deputy asked.

"Yes, sir. We're here about the uh- That."

"About Bigfoot?"

"That's right, Sir," Sam responded. "Can you tell me exactly where this happened?"

"Yes, I can."

* * *

"What the hell is going on in this town?" Dean asked as we hiked through the woods. "First there's a ghost that's not real and now a Bigfoot sighting?"

"Well, every hunter worth his salt knows Bigfoot's a hoax," I answered not turning around.

"Maybe somebody's pumping LSD into the towns water supply." I leant down examining the tracks I had just found as Dean spoke.

"Yeah?" I asked looking up at him and then moving back so he could see. "Then what do you suppose made that?"

Sam's wide eyes looked stumped as he tried to articulate an answer. "That is a big foot."

We followed the footprints which looped round and led us straight back to town. "The convenience store?" I asked as we looked at the back of the building. The footprints led right up to the back door which was hanging off its hinges. Sam and Dean moved it out of the way so we could head inside.

The store was mostly untouched except for some smashed bottles by the cash register.

"So what, Bigfoot breaks into a liquor store jonesing for some hooch?" Dean asked, leaning down to get a better look. I carried on walking on to see if anything else was gone. "Amaretto and Irish cream. He's a girl-drink drunk too."

I laughed at his words as I turned the corner. "Hey, check this out," I waved them over.

"He took the whole Porno rack?" Dean asked with raised eyebrows. I reached into one of the empty shelves and pulled out a lump of fur. "Well, I'll say it again. What the hell is going on in this town?"

I followed the boys out of the store and we all dropped down onto the bench outside. "I got nothing," Dean stated eventually.

"It's gotta be a joke, right?" Sam asked. "Some big-ass mother in a gorilla suit?"

"Or it's Bigfoot."

"Yeah," Dean said grinning. "And he's some kind of a alcohol-porno addict."

Sam and I looked at each other over Dean shoulder before roaring with laughter.

* * *

Ten minutes later we were still sat outside the liquor store when a little girl went passed on a pushbike. A magazine blew out of the basket and I jumped up with the intention of returning it to her until I saw what it was. "Hey, guys check this out," I told them handing it off to them as I watched the girl cycle round the corner.

"A little young for _Busty Asian Beauties," _Dean quipped with a smirk.

We followed her round back, watched her put a box full of liquor and porno magazines on the back steps and then ride away. "Follow her?" I asked the brothers who both nodded.

Sam slowed the car to a stop in front of the house the little girl had gone into. "What is this, like a _Harry and the Hendersons _deal?" Sam asked rhetorically as we approached the front door.

I stepped forward and knocked on the door, surprised when it was the little girl who answered.

"Hello?" she said it as a question.

"Hello!" Sam almost yelled and I glared at him covering my ears.

"Are you parents home?" I asked her.

"Nope."

"No?" the boys said at the same time.

"Have you seen a really, really furry-?" She cut Dean off with a panicked look.

"Is he in trouble?"

"No, no. Not all, sweetie," I told her, smiling. "We just wanted to make sure he's okay."

"Exactly," they spoke at exactly the same time again.

"He's my teddy bear. I think he's sick."

"Amazing," Dean said. "Because you know what? We're teddy bear doctors."

Sam and Dean produced their Health Services badges and I bit back a smile.

"Really? Can you please take a look at him?" She asked hopefully.

"Sure they can, sweetie," I told her, pushing the brothers into the house after her, enjoying this immensely.

The little girl led us up the stairs to what I'm guessing was her bedroom door. "He's pretty grumpy," she told us, pouting slightly. "Teddy? There's some nice doctors here to see you," she said knocking on the door before opening it.

The door swung open to reveal a life size bear sat rocking on the bed with a bottle of beer in his hand. My eyebrows shot up so far they almost met my hairline as I shared on in shock along with Dean and Sam. "Close the frigging door!" the bear yelled and the little girl rushed to do as he asked.

"See what I mean?" she asked looking up at us sincerely. "All I ever wanted was a teddy which was big, real and talked but now he's sad all the time. Not 'ouch' sad but 'ouch in the head' sad, says weird stuff and smells like the bus."

I bit back a smirk at her description of the teddy and Dean shook his head clearly shocked and uncertain.

"Little girl..." Dean began.

"Audrey," she told him forcefully.

He looked at us wide eyed for a moment before looking back at her. "Audrey," he tried again. "How exactly did your teddy become real?"

"I wished for it," she stated matter-of-factly.

"You wished for it?" I asked.

"At the wishing well."

Dean nodded, frowning and then stepped forward opening her bedroom door. The over sized teddy was still sat on the bed rocking. "Look at this!" it exclaim as Dean entered the room. "You believe this crap?" he asked, pointing towards the television set.

"Not really," Dean answered with a slightly disbelieving smirk on his face.

"It's a terrible world. Why am I here?" it demanded of Audrey suddenly making Dean jump.

"For tea parties!" Audrey yelled back. Dean turned to look at us grinning and my heartbeat jumped like it always did. I blushed in embarrassment that thankfully it went unnoticed by everyone but Dean who simply smirked and turned back to the teddy bear.

"Tea parties? Is that all there is?"

Dean turned around and walked out of the room wide-eyed, closing the door behind him. Audrey looked up at us expectantly and I looked between the brothers uncertain of what to do with this. "Audrey, just give us a second, okay?" Sam asked.

I walked between them to the other end of the hall.

"Are we-?" Sam seemed to struggle with his words. "Should we-? Are we gonna kill this teddy bear?" he finally whispered.

"How, huh?" Dean demanded, also whispering. "We shoot it, burn it?"

"I don't know. Both?"

"How do we know that's gonna work?" I asked them. "I don't want some giant, flaming pissed off teddy on our hands."

"I agree with Bells," Dean said making me blush again and again he was the only one who noticed, he seemed to be enjoying it far too much.

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "Besides, I get the feeling the bear isn't really the problem here."

"Audrey, where are your parents?" I asked.

"My mom wished they were in Bali, so I think they're in Bali."

Dean raised his eyebrows and for a brief moment I got lost in his face. I imagined what it would feel like to reach out and touch his jaw, feel the stubble there. I shook my head to clear those thoughts, looking back at the little girl knowing both Sam and Dean had seen what had just happened. I crouched down in front of her and smiled gently. "I'm really sorry to have to break this to you, but your bear is sick."

"Yeah," Sam backed me up nodding. "He's got..."

"Lollipop disease," I told Audrey turning back to face her.

"Lollipop disease," Sam and Dean said as well.

"It's not uncommon for a bear of his size," Dean carried on and I stayed crouched in front of Audrey watching her reactions. "But see it's really contagious."

I smirked when I realized where he was going with this. "Audrey, is there someone, maybe a grown up that you can stay with while we treat him?" I asked her.

"Mrs Hurley lives down the street," she told me.

"Perfect." I grinned at her. "We'd like you to stay there for a few days, okay?"

"Okay," she agreed easily and I straightened back up standing between the brothers.

"Oh, and Audrey, where is this wishing well?" Dean asked, his face suddenly very serious.

* * *

**A/N: Rewritten and reposted 08/06/13. All outfits are on my profile. Ruby x.**


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

* * *

Chapter Six

I watched an angry looking kid with a black eye drop a coin in the well and walk away straight between Dean and I.

"Think it works?" Dean asked.

"Got a better explanation for teddy back there?" I responded.

"There's one way to find out," Dean stated, grinning as he fished a quarter from his pocket. I watched with my eyebrows raised as he tossed it into the well.

"What you gonna wish for?" Sam asked.

"Shhh you're not suppose to tell," he told him off, closing his eyes to make his wish.

"Somebody order a foot-long Italian with jalapeño?" a guy behind us yelled and we all turned around to look.

Dean's eyes widened and he grinned at us. "That'd be me."

"I think it works," Dean told us around a mouthful of his sandwich. "I was pretty specific."

"The teddy bear, the sandwich..." I trailed off.

"I'm guessing this," Dean stated holding up a newspaper that had the lottery winner on the front.

"I'm guessing that," Sam responded, pointing to the couple we had noticed earlier. They were sat at a corner table hanging all over each other.

"Oh, that definitely goes on the list," Dean agreed.

"Why?" I asked them, watching the couple.

"Um, hello. Have you seen that girl? She is way too hot for him!" Dean said watching them too.

"Since when did everyone get so shallow?" I chastised them. "I hate it, you should be able to be with who you want without people judging." I watched the women start feeding the guy and I wrinkled my nose. "Although no self-respecting woman likes that much PDA. What are we supposed to do though? Stop peoples wishes from coming true?"

"Sounds like kind of a douchey thing to do," Dean observed.

"Yeah, maybe," Sam half agreed. "But when has something like this ever come without a price tag? And usually a deadly one."

"I don't know," Dean answered around another mouthful. "But it's a damn good sandwich." I frowned at him and he rolled his eyes but put the sandwich down. "All right, fine. We'll put a hold on the wishing until we figure out what's what."

I watched a small Chinese man that I guessed was the owner approach where we were sat. "I'm very sorry, we don't allow people to eat outside food here," he told us, looking at Dean's sandwich.

"Well, I'm certainly not gonna eat the inside food here," Dean responded, his voice rising indignantly at the end. "Health Department." Dean held us his fake badge and so did Sam and I. "You, my friend, have a rat infestation. We have to shut this place down under Emergency Hazard Code 56C."

"Rats?" the owner yelled.

* * *

I watched Dean sweep the last few coins aside finding nothing. "It's a typical fountain, plaster Buddha. Nothing I can see," Dean told us straightening up.

"Yes, nothing," the owner insisted. "We keep a clean place here."

"Sir, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave during the preliminary investigation, okay?" I asked him, he nodded and turned to walk away. "Thank you."

Dean watched the owner disappear into the kitchen before he spoke. "Come on, aren't you a little tempted?" he asked Sam and I.

"No, wouldn't be real. Wouldn't trust it," Sam answered.

Dean shrugged. "I don't know, that bear seemed real."

"Yeah," I had to agree.

"Come on, if you could wish yourself back, before it all started, before you became a hunter. Think about it, nice car, a white picket fence..."

"Not what I'd wish for," I told him, abruptly cutting him off.

"Seriously?"

"Its too late to go back to my old life. I'm not that person anymore."

"Okay," Dean murmured and I looked down. I tilted my head to the side when a coin left in the bottom of the fountain caught my eye.

"What is that?" I asked leaning down to get a better look.

"Some kind of old coin," Sam answered as he and Dean leaned down on either side of me. "I don't recognise the markings."

I tried to grab it but it wouldn't budge. "Damn," I cursed it.

"Lift with your legs," Dean said, mocking me.

"What the hell? Is that little mother welded on there?"

I stood by the well waiting for the brothers to come back. I turned when the bell rang signalling they had re-entered the restaurant. I turned to see Dean carrying a crowbar and Sam a hammer. I looked at them with a raised eyebrow and the owner followed them, a horrified expression on his face. Dean wedged the crowbar under the coin and attempted to move it.

"Hey, what is this?" the owner asked. "You are gonna break my fountain!"

"Now, sir, I don't wanna slap you with a 44-slash-16, but I will," Sam told him. I gave him a questioning look when the owner walked away, he just half-shrugged me with a smirk and I grinned back at him.

"Let me see that," Dean said holding his hand out for the hammer Sam was holding. "I got an idea." Dean wedged the crowbar under the coin again and then hit it with the hammer. Sam covered his eyes and I jumped back surprised when the hammer head shot off, landing in the middle of the room. Sam and I shared a shocked look as Dean lifted up the other half of the broken hammer that was still in his hand.

"Damn," I breathed.

"Coins magical," Sam stated.

"Wow, you don't say!" I shot him a sarcastic look.

"I think it's Hoodoo that's protecting the well," Dean said as Sam pulled out his notepad and pencil, before bending down to get a trace of the coin. "I don't think we can destroy this."

As I watched Sam trace the coin a thought popped into my head and I frowned.

"Okay," Sam said standing up. "Let's find out the origin of this coin."

"All right, you do that. Dean you're with me." I turned heading for the exit.

"Where are you going?" Sam asked.

"Something just occurred to me."

* * *

"You gonna fill me in now?" Dean asked as we climbed out of the car at the health centre.

"The woman said she saw a ghost in the showers right?" I walked quickly up the stairs and through the front door.

"Yeah," Dean replied.

"Well, there is no ghost just a coin that is granting peoples wishes..." I flashed the woman at the front desk my FBI badge and dashed straight passed her, not breaking step.

"So?" Dean cut across me.

"When we interviewed her she said the ghost kept apologizing and asking her not to tell its mom," I told Dean as we both took the steps to the second floor showers two at a time.

"So you're saying..." he trailed off and smirked.

"Exactly," I replied and with that I pushed open the door to the shower room. There was a woman stood in front of the mirror brushing her hair. I scanned the room and noticed wet front prints approaching her from behind. I moved across the room quickly, Dean just behind me. I put my hand on the _ghosts_ shoulder and turned him around as he became visible. The women turned shocked and ran from the room.

Dean smirked at the naked teenage boy stood in front of us. "So, you can turn it on and off?" I asked him.

"How'd you know I was-?"

I shook my head at him in disbelief. "Seriously, dude? You walked up to a wishing well, dropped a dime and wished to be invisible so you could spy on women in the shower?" I demanded, Dean put his hand on my shoulder as he shook with laughter.

"No. No, that's crazy," the boy stuttered out.

"Put on some pants," I told him, sending Dean into another round of roaring laughter. "And stay visible." I smacked him on the back of the head as he walked by me. I blinked a few times, frowning as Dean finally righted himself with one last chuckle.

* * *

We pulled up the Impala in a parking lot and waited for Sam. I sat on the hood while Dean leaned casually beside me. I saw the same group of boys that had been chasing the little blond kid earlier, only this time the blonde kid was chasing them. All _four _of them.

"Yeah, you better run," he yelled after them. Dean and I frowned before looking back at them. The kid came to stop just a few feet from us. "You got a problem, Mister?" Dean looked surprised and the kid just glared at him.

"What? No!" I bit my lip to keep from laughing. He glared at Dean for a moment longer before setting off running after the kids again. Dean followed him with his eyes and then shook his head before frowning as his stomach rumbled.

"You seriously can't be hungry," I declared as Dean practically jumped away from the Impala and vomited all over the sidewalk.

* * *

I looked up as Sam entered the hotel room and frowned at the bathroom where Dean could be heard retching. Sam looked at me questioningly and I just shook my head with a grin. "I'll let Dean tell you."

"Dean?" he asked through the door. "You all right?"

I could hear water running before Dean spoke. "The wishes turn bad, Sam. The wishes turn very bad."

I scoffed at Dean's words and Sam bit back a smirk as Dean opened the bathroom door. "The sandwich, huh?" Dean leaned against the door frame and nodded weakly. "I'm not surprised," Sam told him as he sat down beside me opening his laptop. "The coin is Babylonian. It's cursed. I found some fragments of a legend not that it really helps. The serpent is Tiamat which is the Babylonian god of primordial chaos."

"I guess her priests were working some serious Black Magic," I said looking at what Sam had dug up.

"They made the coin?" Dean asked, sitting down on the other bed and opening a beer.

"Yeah, to sow the seeds of chaos. Whoever tosses a coin in a wishing well, makes a wish, it turns on the well then it starts granting wishes to all comers," Sam told us.

"But the wishes get twisted," I finished for him. "You ask for a talking a teddy-"

"You get bipolar nut job," Dean stated with a nod.

"And you get E Coli," I shot at him. He groaned and took a mouthful of his beer.

"This thing has turned more than one town upside down," Sam continued. "It's even wiped a few off the map. I mean, one person gets their wish it's trouble, but everybody gets their wish-"

"It's chaos," I stated with a grin. "Any way to stop it?"

"One way," Sam answered. "We gotta find the first wisher. Whoever dropped the coin in and made the wish they're the only one who can pull it back out and reverse the wishes."

"And in the meantime, we've got a couple of nutso dreams come true?" Dean questioned rhetorically.

"What happens when word gets out about the well though?" I asked.

"Thing will get crazier," Sam replied. "Much crazier."

* * *

I sat curled up against the headboard of one of the beds while Dean slept and Sam researched. Dean began moaning in his sleep. Loudly. Sam and I shared an amused look before Sam woke him up.

"Dean, wake up!" Sam yelled.

"What? I'm up. What?" Dean babbled sleepily.

"Good dream?" Sam asked in a teasing tone.

He turned scowling. "Bite me," he hissed at Sam. Sam and I looked at each other for a moment before breaking into laughter at the same time.

"What do you got?" Dean asked when we stopped laughing.

"We got teddy bear, lottery guy, invisible pervert guy," I listed them and Dean chuckled again at the last one. "They all must have wished sometime in the last two weeks but we don't know who wished first."

"And how are we supposed to know who wished for what, when?" Sam stated.

"Well it helps when they announce it in the paper," Dean said, looking slightly smug. He placed the paper down in front of Sam and climbed off the bed to go over and look. "Goes back a month."

Dean stepped back beside me as Sam read out loud. "Wesley Mondale and Ms. Hope Lynn Casey have announced their surprise engagement."

"True love," Dean quipped and I hit him on the arm.

"I hate to admit this," I started, glaring at Dean who was rubbing his arm. "But it's the best lead we got."

* * *

As we approached the house where the couple lived I had to put my hands in my pockets to keep from smacking Dean. He'd had a smug smile on his face all the way over here and it was starting to get on my nerves. Sam rang the doorbell and turned to look at Dean and I with a smile.

"Hi," I spoke, smiling widely when Hope answered the door. "Your fiancé, Mr Mondale, called us. We're the florists."

Hope grinned and ushered us in before leading us into the living room. "Wes, you didn't tell me you called the florists for the wedding," she practically bounced across the room as she approached the guy who was sat in the chair. The house was small but homey, there was a small kitchen to our left and a TV in the corner. I frowned when I spotted a whole chicken sat on a tray on the small table beside his chair. I wrinkled my nose at the old fashioned wallpaper he had up and I spotted the rows of cabinets on the far wall holding a range of different coins.

"Huh?" he made a confused noise and sat up straight in the chair, looking between his fiancé and us.

"You're the best!" she told him.

"Wha-?" he started to question, looking even more confused with each second. Hope kissed him on the head, effectively cutting him off.

"I'm gonna go get my folders," she announced and disappeared into the kitchen.

"Okay," he agreed but she was already gone. His gaze fell on us then and he frowned.

"Wesley, how's it going?" Dean asked him with his signature smirk. Sam shook his head slightly at Wesley.

"It's Wes-" he spoke as he started to get up, but he quickly shut up and lowered himself back into the chair.

"Aren't you three from the health department?" he asked us.

"Yeah," Dean answered with a grin.

"And florists on the side," Sam told him.

"Plus FBI," Dean stated.

"And on Thursdays, we're teddy-bear doctors," I finished and Dean snickered beside me.

"Huh?"

"Doesn't matter who we are!" I snapped shutting him up. "What matters is that we know."

"So a coin collector, huh, Wes?" Sam asked him.

Wes turned, following our gaze to the wall behind him where the coin cabinets were. "Oh, yes. My grandfather gave them to me," he explained before looking back at us.

"Did you happen to lose one of the coins lately?" I asked.

"And by 'lose'," Dean continued. "She means drop into a wishing well at Lucky Chin's and make a wish on it?"

He shook his head trying to look like he didn't know what we were talking about, but I could see right through it so I was damn certain the boys could too. "No, I- I don't know what you're talking about."

Dean opened his mouth to say something but Hope came barrelling back in with her folders effectively cutting him off. "Okay, now. I have a lot of ideas." Hope began and Wes stood up with a smile. "But, you know, we don't have all the money in the world. Wes is between jobs right now. Means more time for me." I looked at Dean, feeling faintly nauseated at the scene before us, he grinned at my expression. "You know, I'm thinking a Japanese Ikebana kind of thing." She was flipping through pages as she spoke and Wes suddenly found the floor very interesting.

"Yes, I can see it," Dean said with a grin.

"Yeah," Sam agreed and I simply nodded. "So, Hope, tell us how you two love birds met?"

"Oh, best day of my life," she gushed.

"I'll bet," I said under my breath and Dean bit back a laugh.

"It's the funniest thing. We both grew up here but I never really knew who he was. Not by name anyway," she explained. I smiled widely at her and Wes shuffled uncomfortably beside her. "Until one day last month, it was like I just-. I just saw him for the first time. He was just glowing." She put down her folder and began stroking his face. I looked at Dean wide-eyed at this sudden turn of events but he just continued to look amused.

"Babe," Wes spoke, trying to move her away from him. "Can you get us some coffee?"

"Yeah, yeah," she agreed but pulled him in for a kiss.

"Oh, Jesus," I muttered under my breath, turning away from the sickening scene. Dean chuckled quietly and after a few moments he tapped me on the shoulder. I turned to see the loving couple had managed to prise themselves off each other and I just caught sight of Hope as she disappeared around the corner.

"Wes, we know," Sam said once Hope was out of earshot. "So tell us the truth."

He opened his mouth to speak but then shut it looking resigned. "My grandfather found the coin in North Africa you know, World War II, and he brought it back. He said it was a real wish granting coin but that nobody should ever use it." He took one of the smaller cases off the wall as he spoke. "He was all I had, and when he died I thought: 'Well, you know what? Why not give the coin a shot?'"

I shot Dean and a disbelieving glance. _Was this guy for real?_

"Yeah, well, now you're gonna wish it back," Sam told him, his voice stern.

Wes scoffed and we continued to look at him seriously. He picked up on that after a moment and his expression changed. "Ha ha, no, I'm not," he told us, shaking his head defiantly.

"If you don't stop it, something bad is gonna happen," Dean tried to reason with him.

"Something bad, like us," I breathed, staring at him coldly. He smirked cockily and folded in his arms. Dean, Sam and I all drew our guns and Wes had the good sense to look afraid. "We really wish you'd come with us." Wes didn't argue this time, he led us out of the house quietly. I called shotgun as we approached the car so Sam had to sit up back with him.

"I don't get it," Wes complained as we drove into town. "So my wish came true. Why does that have to be a bad thing?"

"Because the wishes go south, Wes," I explained. "Your town is going insane."

"You're gonna sit there and tell me your relationship with Hope in functional?" Dean asked. "That it's what you'd wished for?"

"I wished she would love me more than anything," Wes told us, leaning forward.

"Yeah, and how is that going?" I questioned harshly. "That seem healthy to you?"

"Well, it's a hell of alot better than when she didn't know I was alive," he shot back at me.

"You're not supposed to get what you want, man," Dean stated. "Not like this. Nobody is. That's what the coin does, it takes your hearts desires and it twists it back on you. You know the whole, 'be careful what you wish for?'"

Everyone tensed when we went over a bump in the road. "Did we just hit something?" I questioned. Sam and I turned round but there was nothing there.

"I didn't see anything," Dean stated.

"'Careful what you wish for,'" Wesley mimicked Dean. "You know who says that? Good looking people, like you three! The ones who got it so easy because you happen to be attractive."

"Easy?" we all asked simultaneously in disbelief.

"Yeah; people look at you; they notice you."

"Believe us; we do not have it easy," Sam assured Wes.

"Yeah, we are miserable," Dean added sarcastically, not helping.

I rolled my eyes and turned in my seat to face Wes. "We don't get what we want," I insisted. "In fact, we have to fight tooth and nail just to keep whatever it is we got, but maybe that's the whole point."

"Yeah," Dean agreed, backing me up. "People are people because they're miserable bastards. They never get what they really want."

"Right, yeah," Sam told Wes. "You get what you want; you get crazy."

"Just take a look at Michael Jackson," Dean added. "Or David Hasselhoff."

Dean and Sam shared an agreeing look and I shook my head at them. "You know what?" Wes piped up from the back. "Hope loves me now, completely, and its awesome. Besides, look around. Where's all this insanity you guys are talking about?"

None of us answered him as we pulled into the parking lot in town. The blonde kid from earlier who had confronted Dean was tipping a 4x4 over - not even breaking a sweat. "Well, that should cover it," I stated loudly, looking on in disbelief as the car toppled onto its side and the kid began shoving it from underneath.

Dean jumped from the car but paused looking back at us a moment. "I'll handle Todd. You two get Wes to Lucky Chin's. Go!"

"Okay." I slipped into the drivers seat and pulled away just as Dean shut the door. I pulled the car up in front of Lucky Chin's, slamming it into park and we all piled out quickly.

"That- That kid turned over that car like it was nothing," Wes stumbled over his words trying to get his sentence out.

"Should have seen the teddy bear," Sam told him. "Now, come on. Fun's over. Time to pull the coin." I leaned back against the car my hands in my pockets watching them.

"Wes," I said in a warning tone when he crossed his arms over his chest stubbornly, as if he was going to fight us on this.

"Why can't we just get what we want?" Wes pleaded, looking back at me. I stepped away from the car standing between Sam and Wes facing them both.

"Because that's life, Wes," I told him gently. Before Wes could respond a single gunshot rang out and pain ripped through my chest. I looked down to see blood spreading across my pale skin. I raised my hand instinctively and pulled it away, the blood covered fabric clinging to my skin. I glanced up into Sam's face and I could see his lips moving but could not hear what he was saying. Sam made a move for me as my legs gave out, but I hit the ground before he could reach me and everything went black.

* * *

I gasped, filling my lungs with hot air and blinked my eyes open. Sitting up slowly, I blinked around and my memory suddenly came rushing back. I clutched my chest but there was no blood, no sign I had ever been shot at all. I heard Sam gasp and I crawled towards where he was laid on the pavement not a foot from me.

"Bells?" he questioned. "You were dead! You got shot!"

"I know," I told him, getting up and pulling him with me. I heard the bell above the restaurant door ring, Sam and I both turned to see a confused looking Hope come out. She eyed us warily as she walked past us. A moment later Wes followed her out unhappily. He handed the coin wordlessly to Sam before walking away. I turned to watch him, my heart going out to him. Sam put his arm around my shoulder and squeezed gently before leading me back to the Impala.

* * *

The morning after I sat beside Dean on the pier in town as he read the article that said the lottery winners ticket was a fake. Audrey walked by, her - now normal sized - teddy looking like it had been patched up, with her parents who were badly sun burnt. She waved eagerly at Dean who saluted her with a smile. Dean folded his paper up as Sam approached. "Well, the coin's been melted down. It shouldn't cause any more problems," he explained.

"Audrey's parents are back from Bali," Dean told his brother, gesturing to the family. "Looks like all the wishes are gone and so are we."

The boys began walking away but I stood and called out stopping them. "Hang on!"

"What?" Sam asked as they turned.

"Don't you feel a little bit bad for Wes?" I asked.

"Not really," Dean scoffed. I put my hands on my hips crossly. "Come on, Bells." He smirked in his signature way. "The man effectively wished away a woman's free will and forced her to love him."

"When you put it like that..." I trailed off with a pout, feeling a little silly now.

"Come on," Dean beckoned me with an outstretched hand. I took it happily and he pulled into his side, his arm now flung around my shoulders as we made our way down the pier towards the Impala.

* * *

**A/N: Rewritten and reposted 08/06/13. All outfits are on my profile. Ruby x. **


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